Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue IV, 2013 | Page 38

D OM I N A T O R S
By Debbie Selinsky

Failed Forward

From hard knocks to Golden Corral’s biggest success

B

y most anyone’s definition, Eric
Holm is a business success story.
The Winter Park, Fla., resident
owns 30 Golden Corral restaurants that bring in $155 million in annual
sales and provide jobs for more than 3,000
employees in Georgia and Florida.
But when you ask him about his life
and career, Holm is just as likely to tell
you about his two bankruptcies, or the
time his independent restaurant fell into
a sinkhole, as he is to tell you that he is
the most awarded franchisee in Golden
Corral history.
“I’ve been broke two times in my life
and I didn’t enjoy either one of them,” he
says. “But I didn’t hang out and have a pity
party. I got out and went to work and tried
different things to be successful. I guess
you could say I actually ‘failed forward.’”
So, Holm, who has been Golden Corral’s
Franchisee of the Year eight times and the
highest-volume operator in the system for
the past 15 years, urges restaurateurs and
would-be franchisees to understand that
failure is a learning tool. “Soak it up. Live
and breathe it. Learn from it and own it,”
Name: Eric Holm
Title: Owner and CEO
Company: Metro Corral
No. of units: 30 Golden Corral,

1 Daytona Pig Stand (original
concept)

Age: 57
Family: Wife Diane and three

daughters, Danielle, Erin, and Erica

Years in franchising: 17
Years in current position: 17

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Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue IV, 2013